Question

What are the biggest challenges your dealership faces for the remainder of 2020 and what will you do to overcome those challenges?

Answers 

“Lack of the right inventory is our biggest challenge right now, and I see this continuing through 2020 and on into 2021. With volatility in the market, forecasting and managing orders and inventory will be a challenge for a while to come.” — Jeremy Ostrander, CEO, AgriVision Equipment

“With all of the uncertainties, presidential election, COVID, protest, etc., I would say order writing for 2021. If you go bold and the economy weakens the big inventory would be a negative. If you go light and the economy is strong you lose sales (profit) and market share." — Wayne Blankenship, Manager, Rocky Mount Tractor

“We dealers have been faced with ordering next year's inventory all summer. We must order now so the factories can have it built for next selling season. Our inventories are down to nothing. Warehouses are empty. Today's economy is excellent, causing record breaking sales this year. But, what will happen next year — feast or famine? Will we have a continuation of the robust economy or recession? Our problem is that we have no crystal ball to see what will happen in the U.S. and then the world after the election. Time will tell , but in the interim what should our stocking level be?” — Larry Krystowski, Owner, Krystowski Tractor

“By far our biggest challenge is getting inventory. We are running at 20% of our normal inventory level and it’s steadily shrinking. We have a couple of manufacturers that have been sold out for months and we aren’t able to get any inventory from them.” — David Holman, President, Ranchland Tractor & ATV

“Biggest challenge I see is finding quality help. 2020 has been an extremely volatile year for many businesses and while we’ve seen record sales this year — I know it’s not the same for all industries —  finding competent individuals to support the surge in business has been extremely challenging.  

“As a general statement I would say that another major challenge that dealers are facing is being able to adapt to the ever changing environment due to COVID-19. Limited foot traffic in the dealerships has a lot of dealers scratching their heads; however online interactions and sales through social media has helped tremendously. Find ways to make it easier for your customers to shop without having to leave their house — Amazon mentality.”  — Dan LeBlanc, Owner, River East Power Equipment

“Kubota Inventory is very difficult to get right now. We believe that retail business will be good if we can secure the equipment.” — Andy More, President, More Farm Store

“I have a very simple answer, inventory! To say it better, lack of inventory, JD has been sold out of most L&G inventory for the better part of a month, new models are supposedly coming and orderable Oct.9, but for us in the Midwest, that’s too late to help anymore. In my opinion there will not be much we can do at all. We are at the mercy of the supplier and will not get more inventory timely whether we want it or not. The one thing it will do is keep inventory levels low throughout the rest of the year and keep us selling what we have!” — Chris Eis, Owner, Eis Implement

“My #1 concern is the election. After that we can reset and plot our strategy. I will be much more aggressive if it is a Republican win in the Whitehouse and Senate and less bullish if it is just a win in the Senate.” — Don Van Houweling, Owner, Van Wall Equipment